Four meet records had fallen by the end of one final and two semis of the second event on day three of the European Championships in Eindhoven today.

After Hugues Duboscq (FRA) had clocked 2:10.72 in morning heats of the 200m breaststroke, his championship record fell in 2:10.65 to Grigory Falko (RUS) in the first semi-final before Duboscq hit back with a 2:09.85, ahead of a 2:10.08 for Alex Dale One (NOR), winner of the 100m yesterday.

The splits compared to the world record:

The inaugural 800m freestyle title for men went to Gergo Kiss (HUN) in a championship record of 7:51.94, with Samuel Pizzetti (ITA) on 7:54.09 and bronze going to Dragos Coman (ROM), in 7:54.37. Back in fifth on 7:55.85 was Przemyslav Stanczyk (POL), world champion last year after Oussama Mellouli (TUN), the man who stopped the clock ahead of the pack, forfeited what would have been the first global swimming gold for a swimmer of Arab descent when he admitted to having inadvertently taken a stimulant in December 2006. Anti-doping suspensions carry a six-month retroactive cancellation of all results. Seventh in Eindhoven on 7:58.35 was Federico Colbertaldo (ITA), who was promoted to Melbourne 2007 bronze last year after Mellouli's tumble.

A fifth Championship record was given a close shave by Mireia Belmote (ESP), who fell just 0.08sec shy of Olympic champion Yana Klochkova's 202 win for Ukraine, on 2:11.67 in the first semi-final of the 200m medley. Belmonte's performance was remarkable: the former European junior champion had best times of 2:16.85 in 2006, 2:14.90 in 2007 and started this year off with an unrested 2:14.48. Now she is ninth fastest all-time behind: Wu, Hoff, Coventry, Myers, Klochkova, Chen, Rice and Lin.

Belmonte's splits: 29.00; 1:03.73; 1:40.56; 2:11.61:(29.0; 34.67; 36.83; 31.11).